The Malones

You may remember me talking about Miss Olive. She came into our lives in January of 2008. Blake was playing golf at Montgomery Bell when this tiny beauty came walking up to him and his buddy. Her loving personality caught Blake's attention right off the bat. He commented on her pleasant demeanor when he went into the pro shop. They were quick to say she needed to find a home. She had been dropped off by someone and kept making her way into the pro shop, cuddling up in a ball and sleeping on their merchandise!!! I was shocked when Blake called to tell me about her. He NEVER calls suggesting we get a new pet. Seriously. Being that Blake is a vet and all, we have plenty of opportunities to add four legged friends to Malone clan. He is never even tempted. But there was something about Olive. At the end of our conversation, he said he may consider bring her home as an "outside cat" if she was still there when they finished 18 holes. I was THRILLED. "Please let her be there..."

At the end of their round, they went back to the pro shop. The sweet little kitty was no where to be found. "Oh well, it wasn't meant to be," was his thinking. But before he got out the door, she was found...in the pro shop! Sooooo, that meant she was coming to our house!!!!!! I was so excited to meet her. She slept in our friend's lap the whole way home. As soon as I laid eyes on her, I was in love.

We lost her in less than 24 hours. I was devastated. We spent the day in Columbia watching the Super Bowl. We left her in the garage because we knew we would be gone all day. There was a storm that night. Apparently, the side door did not close completely and the wind blew it open. She got out. As soon as we pulled in the driveway, I saw the door was open and immediately started crying. I was heartbroken and I barely even knew her. To make a long story short, she went to the neighbors. They are animal lovers so they took her to the vet clinic, where Blake works, mind you, to have her scanned for a chip. No chip. No one recognized her because we only had her for less than 24 hours. So they took her to their vet (traitors) and had her vaccinated. $236. They saw the signs we posted as soon as they got back from the vet. They called us and we went to pick her up. And our $236 vet bill!!!!! Yeah...that would have cost us all of $10 had Blake done it. She was the most expensive stray. Not to mention when Blake went to spay her, he saw an incision on her belly! She had already been spayed..AND vaccinated, I am sure!

We lost Caroline a few weeks later. Needless to say, I was a complete wreck. Miss Olive was my saving grace. She would cuddle with me and love on me. She could put a smile on my face when nothing else could. She quickly became more of an "inside cat" than and "outside cat". Not to mention she could care less about the moles Blake was hoping she would kill. She was too prissy for all that!! She was my bed rest buddy. We were the best of friends.

I was admitted to the hospital and was not able to let her in and out like normal. Blake was trying to manage the household, work and come to Baptist everyday. On Monday, she didn't come running up to the house for breakfast. She didn't come the next day. Or the next. Initially, Blake couldn't bring himself to tell me she had not come home. But I asked about her all the time so he finally had to tell me the news. She was nowhere to be found. He put up signs. Friends went from house to house. All the neighbors were on watch. No Olive. I cried and cried, laying in my hospital bed, all alone. My saving grace had left me, too. I just kept thinking, we would find her, just like the first time she went missing.

When I was finally discharged, I can remember driving up the hill to our neighborhood. I was looking left and right, trying to find her. Once we reached our driveway, the flood gates opened. For weeks, I went to the back door, just like I had done every morning before I was hospitalized. I called her name but she never came home. I will admit, I still find myself looking for her on occasion.

Before she left, she came home with a random collar around her neck. I am pretty sure she had friends she would visit when she was out at night. I choose to believe they decided to make her their cat. I keep hoping that she will show up at the clinic one of these days. They will scan her, claim her and bring her back home.

I know lots of people hate cats. That is fine. We kind of like them though. She came into our lives at the perfect time. She could cheer me up on days I could barely get out of bed. It is almost like she was sent to get me through the hardest time of my life. Once her work was done, and she knew that I would be okay, she went on to help the next family.

She has been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe it is the time of year. Maybe it is because my parent's kitten looks as like her. I couldn't bring myself to post anything about her last year. It seemed silly to ask you to pray for my cat when we were struggling to keep Crosby inside. That and I refused to accept another loss in our lives at the time.

I am prety sure most people didn't even remember we had a cat. But, in case you were wondering why she is never mentioned, there's the story. Olive was a gem of a cat. I miss her a ton and choose to believe she is being love by some other family right now! But I will keep holding out hope...